Only non-military solutions can end the conflict in Iraq

On 12th April the All Party Parliamentary Group on Third World Solidarity hosted an event “Update on Iraq” at Portcullis House, House of Commons chaired by Dave Anderson MP. The other speakers included Lord Ken Maginnis, Ian Lavery MP, Ann Clwyd MP, Abdullah Muhsin (NASWT International Officer), Hashim Alhashimi (Iraqi Democratic Movement UK), Salih Husain Al-Tamimi (Iraqi Ambassador to the UK), Saundar Satterlee (TWS) and Vijay Mehta of Uniting for Peace. The event was organised by Mushtaq Lasharie, Chairman of Third World Solidarity.

The first part of the event was taken by passionate speeches on the current crisis in Iraq. Speaker after speaker emphasised the importance of an end to ongoing conflict of the last 13 years and put forward solutions for ending the conflict and also for the reconstruction and development of Iraq.

Heated questions and answers followed. Besides the NGO community there was a large presence from the Iraqi community living in the UK. They wanted to ask pertinent questions: Why is the conflict going on? Where are the people disappearing to? What of the millions of people killed during the last decade because of the warmongering policies of the US and its Western allies?

A lot of action points came out of the meeting, like organising a protest in front of Number 10 and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; meeting officials to find out why and how the conflict can end, and many other ideas. It was a good networking opportunity for the Iraqi community and the Peers, who offered help to rectify the situation.